Surface Mating as an Alternative Mating Strategy in the Fiddler Crab Uca lactea

Abstract

The fiddler crab, Uca lactea, which lives on intertidal mudflats in Korea, exhibits both burrow mating and surface mating. We observed 17 cases of surface mating that occurred on Ganghwa Island, South Korea. Most surface-mating males did not build semidomes, structures that attract searching females for burrow mating. Based on the conclusion of a previous study that semidome building is condition-dependent, we suggest that food availability may influence the mating tactic of this species. In addition, there was a strong correlation between the carapace size of both sexes that surface-mated, which suggests that males use body size of females as a mating cue.